Once, when I was only 17 and walking home from my summer job, I became aware of someone walking behind me.

I was on a busy street but there was a short underpass I had to walk through (similar to the one in the picture) and something didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to turn around and look, for reasons that only make sense in the mind of a 17-year-old.

I suddenly heard the footsteps pick up speed.

I remember it was a sunny day but for some reason I was carrying an umbrella and on instinct I spun around waving my umbrella like a skilled Ninja (an umbrella-wielding Ninja, no less).

I also screamed louder than a howler monkey, the sound reverberating through the underpass so loudly that the teenaged boy that was following me (with his jeans unzipped, no less) took off… as his pants were falling down.

It’s (almost) funny now — I recall the kid didn’t look much more than 17 himself and he wasn’t very tall. Thankfully my umbrella (and my monkey howl) were all it took to scare him off.

I was reminded of this story as I wondered about stalkers who lurk online, in particular the ones who hide in virtual underpasses, waiting to strike anyone whose business appears to be vulnerable.

Do you have a “virtual umbrella” that’s ready to take out anyone who even tries to mess with your “stuff” (that’s street for “intellectual property“)?

As an online entrepreneur you need good sense and self defense… and a “virtual umbrella.”

I realize this is a hard sell. Telling new business owners, especially, that they need to “get legal with it” resonates as much as practicing “safe sex” resonates with teenagers.

I hear you. Really, I hear you LOUD and CLEAR…

Who wants to think about this stuff? 

I’ll just cross my fingers and hope nothing bad happens. 

Sure. Until Facebook shuts you down because you were missing that privacy policy in your ad.

Shut. Down.

Or maybe you receive an invoice from a stock photo company demanding 45 THOUSAND DOLLARS for the unlicensed and unauthorized use of copyrighted images.

45 THOUSAND DOLLARS!

(True stories.)

We are not teenagers anymore.

We need to listen to our gut when it says, “Turn around and look” more than we need to listen to that voice in our head that says, “This is boring; I don’t wanna think about this.” 

Instead, consider thinking like this:

“I am a smart, grown ass, umbrella-wielding entrepreneur who will roar as loud as a howler monkey if someone tries to mess with my online business.”